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CHICAGO — The head of the city's police department said Friday that more investigation was needed to determine how a 14-year-old boy impersonated an officer last month and who was responsible.
Superintendent Jody Weis told Chicago aldermen that extra security measures had been put in place after the Jan. 24 incident at a police station on the city's South Side, which he called a "huge breach of security."
He also said an internal investigation would be completed by Feb. 23 and disciplinary action was possible.
"The fact that this incident occurred is unforgivable. Mistakes were made," Weis said. "The bulk of this problem you can attribute to people being lax."
Weis said the boy, wearing a uniform, got into the station through an unlocked back door used by officers and did not display a badge. The boy had tried unsuccessfully to impersonate an officer at another station earlier in the day.
The boy posed as an officer for several hours, including time spent in a patrol car with another officer. He was discovered after officers saw he lacked a star that is part of the regulation uniform.
Police have said the boy did not have a gun, write tickets or drive a police car.
The boy, whose name was not released because of his age, has pleaded not guilty in juvenile court to impersonating an officer.
Weis said the boy had "interactions with people on the street," but declined to elaborate, citing the investigation and the boy's age.
Robert Klimus, the department's director of investigations for internal affairs, said the teen was familiar with police procedures, appeared older than 14 and had facial hair.
Weis said police commanders have met with officers to go over security measures and officers have been posted at unlocked doors.
Weis, a former FBI special agent, also has called on the U.S. Secret Service for an independent review of the department's security measures, though some aldermen wanted to keep the probe internal.
"We need to really go in and assess security in all these districts," Alderman Isaac Carothers said. "The problem is bigger than what it seems."
